While I am a huge Zelda fan, an ardent admirer even, I unfortunately cannot call myself a long-time fan. My parents did not really like video games much, and my library was limited to mostly just Mario and Sonic games. It was not until I was older and was capable of buying my own games that I finally got to finally branch out and try other things, which is what led me to this little series called The Legend of Zelda.
Sometime in the January 2019, one of my roommates found his copy of Link’s Awakening DX and his old Game Boy Advance and decided to lend them to me. This was really kind of him, and I was grateful, but I could not help but feel a bit wary. I mean, how could this portable game from the early ’90s really compare to all the recent Zelda titles. Do not get me wrong, I played Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, and even though these games were old, they still amazing. I was mostly concerned that a Game Boy game — designed for a console with clearly inferior hardware — would not be able to provide an epic adventure for me, as I was able to take on the other Zelda titles I previously played.
Playing Link’s Awakening proved my prior opinion moot. At first, all I could see was the 144p display, and I could only hear the main Zelda theme pushing through GBA’s severely passé audio hardware. But the most important thing to me is solid dungeon design, and Link’s Awakening’s dungeons are still some of the best Zelda dungeons I have played to date. Unlike most modern Zelda titles, these dungeons were designed with a degree of nonlinearity in dungeon exploration. This design philosophy gives the player the ability to choose which rooms or paths they choose to tackle first. Exploring the dungeons this way greatly enhances the sense of discovery. My personal favorite dungeon from this title, and probably one of my favorites in the entire series has got to be Eagle’s Tower. Nothing felt cooler than demolishing portions of the dungeon in order to change the layout and reach new rooms.
This wonderful gameplay is complimented with Link’s Awakening’s incredibly unique story. It is definitely not the typical epic, heroic fantasy that most Zelda games like to tell. The big plot twist is that the world of Koholint is actually a dream of the slumbering Wind Fish, a god so powerful that his dreams not only conjure realities, but are capable of trapping Link inside them. This is dipping into some true cosmic horror territory. Collecting all eight instruments and waking the Wind Fish will cause the island of Koholint to cease to exist; the knowledge that completing the game will doom all the inhabitants to perish is unbearable. It pained me to speak with Marin, who yearned so deeply for something beyond this illusory realm she was spawned into. Who knew such an awesome narrative could be hidden inside a little Game Boy cartridge?
I ended up finishing the game in about two days. Not only because it is a bit shorter than the other titles, but because I was glued to my roommate’s Game Boy Advance. I played it just in time too; the month after I played it, Nintendo announced the Link’s Awakening remake for Switch in the February 2019 Direct. Link’s Awakening proves to be immensely captivating, both in terms of gameplay and narrative design. This title serves as evidence that good game design and storytelling can transcend limitations of hardware capability or graphic fidelity.
Link’s Awakening turns 30 years old on June 6th, 2023! So we’re dedicating an entire week of articles to the Hylian hero’s charming, quirky adventures through Koholint Island!
